People participate in the canvas campaign at Sivasagar on Monday. Picture by UB Photos

Sivasagar, Feb. 14: Painter Sujit Barua, who had earlier taken up cudgels — read brush — on behalf of the erosion and flood-affected people in the state, today picked up the palette and brush again in front of Sivasagar’s historic Siva Dol.

Numerous artists of the district joined Barua and his wife Sikhasmita, who is also an artist, to demand government measures to permanently rehabilitate more than 200 erosion-affected persons in Barpeta.

Barua said the 45 families displaced by the Beki had been staging protests against the government for the past five days but there was no one to hear their pleas.

“The people were forced to occupy 33 bighas belonging to Jonia Xatra in July last year. Following protests by the xatra authorities, they have been served eviction notices but have nowhere to go. We are demanding that they be given land on a permanent basis and patta,” he added.

Apurba Adhikary, a resident of Barpeta, told The Telegraph over the phone that erosion along the Beki and the Brahmaputra was so severe that hundreds had been displaced at Sorbhog, Moinbori and Jonia. The Moinbori Xatra was washed away in 2005.

“The plight of these people was discussed in the Assembly in the context of the encroachment of xatra land but no solution has been provided for those affected. Unless the government takes immediate action, both these rivers will take away immense chunks of land from this district,” Adhikary said.

Said Barua, “All over Assam, a large number of people are affected by floods and erosion by the Brahmaputra and its tributaries. This is a big problem and my campaign is to take it to the national level through a large 45-foot canvas and a spot signature campaign.”

Hundreds of people signed the 45ft canvas today, which will later be handed over to President Pratibha Patil. Barua and his wife had painted scenes of the victims and the destruction caused by floods in Assam on the canvas during their recent visits to Chhattisgarh, Calcutta and Bangalore.

“I had represented Assam as a painter in the national youth festival under the government of India. There my painting was hailed by all those who came,” Barua said.

The artist, who donates part of his earnings from the sale of his paintings to flood victims, added that the day was not far when the state would lose many heritage sites to erosion.